At a glance

4.1

Bankrate Score

CDs

Checking

Savings

MMA

Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.

Overview

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union is a good option for any California school employee or family member, particularly those who want to do their banking with minimal fees. Yields can be hit or miss depending on the account. For example, while the union’s savings account offers a paltry yield, most CDs offer competitive rates.

Highlights

Free Checking
Low Fees
Low Min Balance

Overall

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union is California’s largest credit union. It has low minimum balances and most SchoolsFirst accounts come without a monthly fee. A large ATM network makes it easy to access your cash, even if you’re traveling outside of California.

Pros

There are no fees or low fees on most types of accounts.
Members have access to over 30,000 fee-free ATMs.
SchoolsFirst offers online bill pay and mobile banking tools such as check deposit.

Cons

Branches are limited to California.
Membership is limited to those who work in or have a connection to California’s educational system.
Higher yields can be found at other financial institutions.

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SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union banking products

3.0

/5

See methodology Compare savings rates

SCORE BREAKDOWN

APY offering:

0.10%

1/5

APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account. APY includes the effects of compounding interest.

Minimum balance to earn interest:

$5.00

5/5

The lowest deposit amount an account must have before it can earn interest.

Monthly service fee:

$0.00

5/5

A monthly charge a financial institution deducts from an account if certain requirements are not met.

Minimum balance to avoid fee:

$0.00

5/5

The lowest balance an account must maintain in order to avoid a fee.

Access to funds:

Great

5/5

A procedure that allows an individual or organization to access and manage the funds of another account holder.

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union savings overview

A Share Savings account is required for membership at the credit union. It can be opened with as little as $5, and the $5 minimum must be maintained to remain a member. The account features unlimited deposits and withdrawals. The account balance earns interest, but the rate on the credit union’s savings is below the national average.

Pros

The Share Savings account has no monthly fees.
There is no limit on deposits and withdrawals.
The minimum balance requirement is only $5.

Cons

You can easily find higher rates at other credit unions and online banks.

Rate history for SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union's Savings account

See how rates for this account have changed over time. Interact with the trend lines to view APY by date.

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union

APY

APY last updated between 7/3 and 7/9.

National average APY

How do we get this data?

Bankrate independently tracks hundreds of APYs and product details for banking institutions nationwide. We retain the historical data of every rate we track in our database. If there are any gaps where we weren’t actively tracking a rate at the time, the graph will reflect the missing data.

See how rates for this account have changed over time. Interact with the trend lines to view APY by date.

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union

APY

APY last updated between 7/3 and 7/9.

National average APY

How do we get this data?

Bankrate independently tracks hundreds of APYs and product details for banking institutions nationwide. We retain the historical data of every rate we track in our database. If there are any gaps where we weren’t actively tracking a rate at the time, the graph will reflect the missing data.

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SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union CD overview

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union offers CDs, known as share certificates for credit unions, with terms ranging from one month to five years. There are four balance tiers: $500, $20,000, $50,000 or $100,000. APYs rise for each balance tier and for longer terms. Most of the terms offer competitive yields.

The minimum deposit for opening a share certificate is $500. Jumbo share certificates are also available if you have at least $100,000 to deposit. An IRA certificate is available for customers interested in using a CD to help save for retirement.

Pros

There are a wide variety of terms available.
Most certificates offer high yields.
Higher rates are offered on higher balances.
Only $500 is needed to open an account.

Cons

To earn the highest rate available, you’ll need to deposit at least $100,000.
There are no bump-up or no-penalty CDs.

Rate history for SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union's CD accounts

See how rates for this account have changed over time. Select the CD term length from the dropdown and interact with the trend lines to view APY by date.

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union

APY

APY last updated between 7/3 and 7/9.

National average APY

Term length

How do we get this data?

Bankrate independently tracks hundreds of APYs and product details for banking institutions nationwide. We retain the historical data of every rate we track in our database. If there are any gaps where we weren’t actively tracking a rate at the time, the graph will reflect the missing data.

See how rates for this account have changed over time. Select the CD term length from the dropdown and interact with the trend lines to view APY by date.

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union

APY

APY last updated between 7/3 and 7/9.

National average APY

Term length

How do we get this data?

Bankrate independently tracks hundreds of APYs and product details for banking institutions nationwide. We retain the historical data of every rate we track in our database. If there are any gaps where we weren’t actively tracking a rate at the time, the graph will reflect the missing data.

3.3

/5

See methodology Compare MMA rates

SCORE BREAKDOWN

APY offering:

1.00%

2/5

APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account. APY includes the effects of compounding interest.

Minimum balance to earn interest:

$2,000.00

3/5

The lowest balance an account must maintain in order to earn interest.

Monthly service fee:

$0.00

5/5

A monthly charge a financial institution deducts from an account if certain requirements are not met.

Minimum balance to avoid fee:

$0.00

5/5

The lowest amount an account must maintain in order to avoid a fee.

Check writing:

Yes

5/5

The ability to write a certain amount of checks within a statement cycle.

Debit/ATM access:

Good

4/5

The ability to withdraw funds from an account through the use of debit or ATM card.

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union money market overview

Members who want a higher yield than the one tied to the Share Savings account can open the fee-free Liquid Advantage Money Market account.

Interest rates for the Liquid Advantage MMA come in three tiers. Savers with larger balances qualify for a higher yield. Account holders must maintain a daily balance of at least $2,000 or the dividend rate converts to the lower rate associated with the Investment Checking account.

Certain withdrawal transactions, such as online transfers or check writing, are limited to six a month. But members can make unlimited withdrawals or transfers through ATMs, at branches or by mail.

Pros

There are no monthly service fees to worry about.
The Liquid Advantage MMA allows limited check writing and unlimited withdrawals at branches and ATMs.
Savers with bigger balances can earn more.

Cons

The minimum opening deposit is $2,000, which is higher than many other banks or credit unions.
Yields are better than the credit union's standard Share Savings account, but not as attractive as most of its share certificates.
The APY drops significantly when the minimum $2,000 balance isn’t maintained.

4.6

Bankrate Score

Compare top checking rates

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union checking overview

SchoolsFirst FCU offers a Free Checking account, the product scored for this review, with no minimum balance requirement or monthly service fees. It does not earn interest. Customers have access to more than 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs through the Co-op Network of credit union ATMs. There’s a $1 surcharge for using an out-of-network ATM.

While there is a $22 overdraft fee, SchoolsFirst charges no more than three overdraft fees each day and only charges the fee on transactions that overdraw the account by more than $10.

The credit union also offers an Investment Checking account that earns some interest. It charges a $3 monthly fee, but the fee is waived when you maintain at least $1,000 in the account or if the account holder is at least 62 years of age. Both checking accounts require $25 to open.

Pros

There are no monthly fees on the Free Checking account.
You’ll get access to tens of thousands of fee-free ATMs.
The overdraft fee is lower than the national average and there is a cap on the number of daily overdraft charges.

Cons

The Free Checking doesn't reimburse ATM fees for out-of-network transactions.

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Bank fees

Fee	Charges
Overdraft fee	$22
Non-sufficient funds fee	$22
Monthly maintenance fee	None
Out-of-network ATM fee	$1
Excessive transaction fee	None

About SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union was founded as Orange County Teachers Credit Union in 1934. At the time, 126 school employees came together to help support each other during the Great Depression. In 2008, Orange County Teachers Credit Union became SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, which provides financial products and services to California school employees and their families.

SchoolsFirst is headquartered in Southern California. It also supports the communities it serves through donations, scholarships, fundraising events and financial literacy programs.

Customer experience

Customer service. SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union has more than 70 branches and more than 30,000 fee-free ATMs through SchoolsFirst and Co-op ATM networks. Members who want to get in touch with a representative can send a message through the live online chat, contact the credit union by phone or mail, or visit a branch. Representatives can be reached by phone 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday.

Mobile app. SchoolsFirst’s mobile app is highly rated on the Google Play Store and highly rated on the Apple App Store. Members can send and receive money via Zelle, online bill pay, account alerts and mobile check deposit.

Financial services. SchoolsFirst Credit union also provides access to financial workshops and offers online tools and calculators to help members pay off credit card debt, reach savings goals and determine how much they need to save for retirement.

How does SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union compare with other banks?

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union vs. Golden 1 Credit Union

Both SchoolsFirst and Golden 1 are credit unions located in California and have about the same amount of branches. Moreover, both unions offer a wide range of deposit products, ranging all the way from CDs to money market accounts.

Those similarities noted, SchoolsFirst tends to offer higher yields on various deposit products, including its CDs and savings accounts. The money market accounts at both unions offer about the same yields.

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union FAQs

SchoolsFirst Federal is a credit union, which is a not-for-profit financial institution that, like a bank, provides a variety of financial services and products. Credit unions are member-owned, meaning they are owned by the people who use its services. You must typically meet certain criteria to be eligible for membership at a credit union.
SchoolsFirst is a credit union that serves educational communities in California. Membership is open to current or retired school employees (and their families) living in California. Membership is also open to employees in California whose company primarily offers direct services to a school or district in California. Some college students may also be able to join, if they are enrolled in certain programs with a student teaching requirement.

Review methodology

With so many financial institutions to choose from, it can be hard to know who to trust. Bankrate’s ever-growing list of bank and credit union reviews is updated regularly. Our editorial team analyzes and reviews each institution across deposit products such as savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and money market accounts (MMAs). Banks are rated by important factors such as offered interest rates, fees, minimum balance requirements, access to funds and more.

We assign a score to each type of account and its features, weigh them carefully based on importance to account holders and determine an overall score. Read our full review methodology.

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union Review 2024

The Bankrate promise

At a glance

Overview

Highlights

Overall

Pros

Cons

We want to know what you think about SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union banking products

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union savings overview

Pros

Cons

Rate history for SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union's Savings account

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union CD overview

Pros

Cons

Rate history for SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union's CD accounts

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union money market overview

Pros

Cons

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union checking overview

Pros

Cons

Bank fees

About SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union

Customer experience

How does SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union compare with other banks?

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union vs. Golden 1 Credit Union

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union FAQs

What kind of bank is SchoolsFirst?

What are the membership requirements for SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union?

Review methodology

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